1. Field of Invention
This invention relates generally to a method of doing pushups and to pushup devices and components thereof.
2. Background Art
It is well known in the prior art to employ pushup devices of the type including a body section for engaging the floor or other supporting surface and a handle to be engaged by a person doing pushups. A person intending to do a pushup grips the handle section of two pushup devices to carry out a pushup exercise.
In order to increase the resistance during a pushup users have positioned a stretchable elastic exercise band around their back and have engaged opposed ends of the elastic bands while at the same time gripping the handles of the pushup devices. In this method of carrying out a pushup at least a portion of the opposed ends of the exercise band is positioned adjacent the handle and is retained against the handle by the force of the person's grip. This is an extremely uncomfortable arrangement for carrying out a pushup with an exercise band, and actually can cause blisters and other injuries to the person's hand depending on the level of resistance created by the exercise band.
Even with the use of a single exercise band injury to the user's hands can occur, and clearly, based on the state of the art pushup exercises using multiple elastic bands positioned over the user's back is not feasible or even contemplated.
Exemplary prior art pushup devices are disclosed in Schaffer et al. Publication No. US2007/0037678; Ignaczak U.S. Pat. No. 6,186,930; Potok Publication No. US2009/0298657; Barringer Publication No. US2011/0009250 and International Publication No. WO2010/127337.
The '337 publication discloses a substantially circular pushup device having a body section and a handle section and discloses detachable handles in the paragraph bridging pages 41 and 42 in conjunction with FIGS. 35A, 35B and 35C.
The '337 publication also discloses attaching elastic bands to the body section of opposed pushup devices and describes that arrangement on pages 42 and 43 in conjunction with FIGS. 36A and 36B.
The elastic bands attaching pushup devices together or used in connection with a single pushup device in the '337 publication are intended to introduce resistance to the actual movement of the pushup devices relative to each other or relative to a support member during an exercise. There is no suggestion that an elastic exercise band can be connected between opposed pushup devices and positioned over the back of a user to provide added resistance against a person's body during a pushup exercise.
It also should be noted that in the '337 publication the elastic members are connected to the pushup devices through retaining members on the body section of those devices; not the handle sections. Thus, the handle sections of the pushup devices are not intended to be removed for the purpose of using the handle sections in conjunction with exercise bands to provide any exercises independent of exercises with the disclosed pushup devices.
In other words, the '337 publication does not disclose a method of using a pushup device wherein an elastic band is positioned over a person's back while the person is engaged in a pushup exercise. In addition the '337 publication does not disclose the feature of a removable handle of a pushup device, wherein the removable handle includes a retaining or attachment member for cooperating with retaining or attaching members of an exercise band to thereby permit the handle sections to be used separately with an exercise band for carrying out exercises independent of pushups.
A need exists for an improved method and structure for carrying out pushups wherein one or more elastic bands can be reliably attached to pushup devices in a manner to permit pushup exercises to be carried out with the elastic band positioned over a person's back. In addition, a need exists for an improved method and structure for carrying out pushups wherein one or more elastic bands can be reliably attached to push up devices in different positions for permitting the active length of the elastic band positioned over a person's back to be changed. In addition, a need is believed to exist for pushup devices wherein a handle section is removable from the body section of the pushup devices and is capable of being used with one or more elastic bands to provide exercises independent of pushup exercises.